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19 hours ago

Greg Stiemsma’s Contract To Become Fully Guaranteed

The C’s gave their 26-year-old rookie a vote of confidence before Tuesday’s game. By not waiving the seven-footer, Stiemsma’s contract will become fully guaranteed on Friday, allowing the shot blocker to breath a little bit and perhaps unpack some boxes for good in Beantown. Here’s Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston with some reaction from Stiemsma and [...]

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1 day ago

5 Questions With Kemba Walker

I had a chance to talk with Bobcats rookie Kemba Walker prior to the Celtics game against Charlotte on Tuesday night.  Here is what the UConn star, who is averaging 12.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game had to say. 1. How much communication have you had with Michael Jordan this year? Walker: [...]

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2 days ago

I Am Awesome!

Yes. This is a “pat myself on the back” post because a) I’m a jackass and b) I predicted something correctly. Back on January 8th, I predicted that the next ten games will tell us everything we need to know about this Celtics’ team. If they struggled, it was time to blow it up. If [...]

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3 days ago

Pierce Wins Eastern Conference Player Of Week

One day before he’s scheduled to pass Larry Bird for second on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list, Paul Pierce won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award. Pierce averaged 22 points, 6.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds in four Boston wins, playing point forward in Rajon Rondo’s absence. Pierce is only 9 points behind Bird [...]

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4 days ago

Garnett’s Wondrous 3-point Rant

Via ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg, who knows a great, playful rant when he hears one, here’s Kevin Garnett discussing his not-so-newfound aptitude for three-point shooting after the C’s took down the Grizzlies. “When I walk around the streets, y’all stop acting like y’all shocked that I can shoot 3’s. Everybody in Boston, everybody in the [...]

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4 days ago

5 Questions With O.J. Mayo

I talked with Memphis guard O.J. Mayo prior to the Celtics-Grizzlies, Super Bowl Sunday game at the Garden.  Here is what the 4th year man out of USC, who is averaging 12.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2 assists per game had to say. 1. You started every game your first two years in the league, [...]

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Advanced Stats in Pacers Game

Pace: 92 possessions (medium-slow)

Offensive Efficiency: 114 points/100 possessions (league-leading)

Defensive Efficiency: 124 points allowed/100 possessions (off the charts bad)

One note about this: Take it with a grain of salt when you hear and read today that the C’s can’t deal with running teams. The Pacers game last night featured a number of possessions (92 by my math, 94 at Statsheet.com) that is closer to what the C’s average (91) than what Indy averages (somewhere between 98 and 100, depending on which stat system you use). 

That doesn’t necessarily mean that running teams don’t present problems for an older, slow-paced team like the C’s. Maybe running teams take better advantage of Boston’s (always plentiful) turnovers. Maybe they push harder to get the ball across midcourt, forcing the C’s to sprint to put their halfcourt defense in place and force the Pacers to eventually use more shot clock. 

Just don’t reflexively believe that last night’s game was some Paul Westhead-level shootout. Because it wasn’t. The Pacers just torched the Celtics defense in every way.

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